Photo credit: Eleni Duke
A Bunhill gallery has been shortlisted for a prestigious small business award
Curious Duke Gallery, on Whitecross Street, is one of only 10 UK businesses to have been nominated in the Micro Business of the Year category in the Smarta 100 awards.
Gallery founder Eleni Duke said she was overwhelmed when she heard the news: “It’s just so exciting. It’s especially gratifying to be rewarded for my work as a businesswoman, and not just for the wonderful art we have in the gallery.”
Twentysix-year-old Duke originally set up the gallery as a pop-up on Islington’s trendy Whitecross Street in 2011, shortly after graduating from Kent University. She told Islington Now that she never expected the gallery to last the year. “We opened during the recession at a time when it is almost impossible to sell art. Most people seem to buy art online nowadays, which I think is so impersonal.”
Duke is determined that the gallery should represent what she believes about art. She said: “For me, every piece is unique and should be seen and interacted with before being bought.
Duke’s efforts have evidently paid off as, two years on, her dedication to “the relationship between curator, artist and buyer” has won her a place in the country’s most prestigious small business awards.
Duke and her team will find out if they have won at the awards ceremony on 12 November. For now, Curious Duke Gallery is enjoying its position on the vibrant market street. “Whitecross Street has such a great neighbourhood vibe. My favourite part of the business is being able to build a brand within this creative community,” said Duke.
